The present disclosure relates generally to the field of residential and commercial filtration products, such as water filtration products. The filter assemblies can be used to filter any one of a range of fluids, such as water, oil, biological preparations, beer, wine, other beverages, other consumable liquids and the like. For convenience, the discussion below focuses on water filtration, although the filter assemblies can generally be used for other applications based on the disclosure herein.
Water filter assemblies, such as point-of-use water filtration systems have become increasingly common in the residential and commercial environment. There are many advantages to these types of systems in addition to the improvements to taste and appearance of the water. In situations where the source water has been municipally treated, point-of-use systems allow the water to retain the disinfecting properties imparted by the municipality until the moment of use such that chances of undesirable microbial contamination is correspondingly reduced. These point-of-use filtration systems can also be individually tailored to treat specific properties of the source water.
One disadvantage of point-of-use filtration systems in the residential and commercial environment is that they must be designed to fit in the limited spaces available to house the systems in these markets. As the design must be compact and unobtrusive, these systems must be designed to allow for frequent and easy replacement of used and exhausted filter elements. Because many of the users in the commercial and residential market may be unfamiliar with the potential dangers of working with a pressurized system, the filtration systems must also be designed with the safety of the user in mind.
To that end, during normal operation of the filters utilized in the point-of-use water filtration systems, the potential for self uncoupling, i.e., disconnection without user intervention, of the filter cartridge from the filter manifold should be eliminated to prevent unwanted leakage and subsequent disengagement of the filter assembly while also permitting the assembly to disconnect safely should an increased pressure condition occur beyond the structural failure point of the filter assembly. Further, the act of uncoupling the filter cartridge utilized in the point-of-use water filtration systems from the filter manifold utilized in the system should also permit the relief of any excess pressure in a controlled manner to reduce the risk of damage or personal injury to the point-of-use water filtration system user.